62 globaltravelerusa.com MARCH 2019
stateside | HARTFORD
in the city helps Hartford retain jobs and its status as insurance capital. And
as technology transforms the insurance sector, the city looks to innovate
within its legacy industries. Last year the National League of Cities and
Schmidt Futures named Hartford “the country’s premier destination for
insurance technology,” as part of the new City Innovations Ecosystem
initiative.
Last December, India-based Infosys, a global leader in technology and
next-generation services, opened its $21 million Technology and Innovation
Hub in Hartford’s recently refurbished Goodwin Square building, one of
the company’s six new regional U.S. hubs. It will hire 1,000 workers here by
2022 and focus on insurance, health care and manufacturing clients. The
new InsureTech Hub startup accelerator will transform the insurance indus-
try with new technology to improve the customer experience and simplify
policy management.
In the manufacturing sector, Stanley Black & Decker’s Advanced Manu-
facturing Center of Excellence, “Manufactory 4.0,” leads the company’s
worldwide automation efforts with the internet of things, cloud computing,
artificial intelligence, 3D printing, robotics and advanced materials, with the
goal of bringing startups to Hartford. This May, the first-ever International
Space Trade Summit in Hartford will give Connecticut’s aerospace com-
ponents manufacturers — including United Technologies Corp.’s Collins
Aerospace — the opportunity to partner with global companies and stake a
claim in the space sector.
Skilled talent is critical for employers, especially with rapid changes in
technology. The state recently earmarked $2.5 million to open two technol-
ogy training schools, one in Hartford, to provide hundreds of job seekersQUIET CONNECTICUT. The Land of Steady Habits. Not so-
briquets you’d expect to define the home state of an emerging
technology hub tucked between New York and Boston. In fact,
Hartford — deeply engaged in the digitized economy — ranks as
the fourth-best city for tech jobs in the country, according to the
Brookings Institution. A big accomplishment for a mid-sized
city.
The state and its capital boast a long history of ideas
and inventions — from the Colt revolver to a Revolution-
ary War submarine to the Frisbee. The first insurance
company opened here in 1810, setting Hartford on its path
as the Insurance Capital of the World. Defining cultural
figures such as Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, J.P.
Morgan and Katharine Hepburn called Hartford home.
As insurance, finance and health care drive the digital
economy, this region proves a great place for people with
technology skills to work, live and play. The commitment
of CVS to keep its new acquisition, health insurer Aetna,RIVERFRONT:
Hartford skyline
across the
Connecticut
River
PHOTO :
© SEAN PAVONE -
DREAMSTIME.COMYankee Ingenuity
Hartford reinvents as it builds an innovations
ecosystem. BY JANICE HECHT